Alan, who is our bird expert has compiled a list of birds which you might have seen or heard on Widmer Fields Village Green. You can download the pdf file under the Images tab. Let us know your results.
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WIDMER FIELDS VILLAGE GREEN
Quarterly update from Hugh McCarthy, Trustee
Normally, it’s our ever-active land management chairman who pen’s this update, but David is on a well-earned family holiday, so you have got me instead. This gives me an opportunity to publicly acknowledge all that David does for this remarkable charity, in his capacity of land manager, HSE guru, resident repairer and general dogs body etc.
That said, of course, the massive and sustained effort, freely given, by the land management team as a whole is a real testimony to community effort, requiring many freely given hours of often hard (and currently hot) work to keep the fields safe and in good order. A huge thanks must go to Bob, Brian, Malcolm, Colin, and our new trustee Colin Stevens (more anon) and not forgetting Brian “the builder”, as he is affectionally known, who almost daily is out there cutting back the invasive brambles etc.
I thought that this might be an opportunity for me to briefly remind our villagers and users of the Grange Area Trust, (or Widmer Fields as they are colloquially known) of their enormous benefit to our village. To have this remarkable open access charitable, conservation land on our doorstep is exceptional. To be blunt, without the enormous and sustained effort by a dedicated group of locals over some 40 years, the whole area would by now be a massive housing estate. So for us to have unfettered access to some 40 plus acres of pleasant, green and safe open space is a truly remarkable community asset and achievement. Now that its registered as a village green, it is essentially protected in perpetuity.
I recently read that the NHS claim that regular access to open, green and pollution free land, can add 10 years to your life! Perhaps that explains the high aggregate age of trustees! So it’s well worth having a browse at our website -www.grange area trust.org.uk- that gives a lot of information and detail about the charity. It also shows how you can contribute to the trust via a gift aided direct debit, or donation, and we currently need c£6,000 a year to maintain the area for you.
Well, that’s enough of the background stuff. What have we been doing this time of year? We started the season by planting several hundred trees and hedging whips. This was to encourage wildlife with indigenous and fruiting species, partly to off-set the awful Ash disease but also to reinforce our boundary where we have now created some boundary walks. What we didn’t plan for was the intense heat and drought! Little did we know that they would need watering every week, a big thank you to Malcolm and Liz for this, and of course others too. Sadly, many of the young trees and whips have succumbed to the heat and dryness, (and the unwelcome attention of rabbits, squirrels and deer). We never planned for the effect of global warming and the hottest period for many years. Doubtless, we will endeavour to replace the dead plants this winter. Let’s hope for lots of rain!
We have almost completed the circular boundary walks, where we have had to clear dead or risky trees and replace where possible. These boundary walks have been very popular in the heat, but they will be muddy if it ever rains again! A big thanks to Bob, Brian and Colin S for this achievement. We are planning to repair, improve and possibly extend the gravelled paths this winter, it will be our last purchase of scalpings, which are becoming very expensive. We have no intention of urbanising or turning it into a “Park” by surfacing the very well used paths, but if we do not keep people to the
main public footpath routes they tend to wander everywhere and that disturbs the conservation element of the fields. So do please try to use the marked paths, and in winter they are generally mud free!
Our plans for the future, with an ever-ageing bunch of workers, (Colin Stevens excepted, who has
significantly lowered the average trustee age and who has worked tirelessly this year! Thank you, Colin.)
has necessitated the move to greater mechanisation.
One of our greatest tasks is the annual cutting back of the very invasive (and prickly) black thorn and brambles. If left uncontrolled they would quickly invade the whole area. We need to manage them both as a wildlife refuge and boundary screen, but its hard work. It has taken its toll on our trusty brush cutter, now about 8 years’ old which has this year required the sustained attention of our chief mechanic. It is feeling better now thanks to David.
So, and with immense gratitude to a very generous substantial donation, we have been able to order a hydraulic cutter for the small tractor to do this work more efficiently. We eagerly await its delivery, along with some other attachments for the tractor to make life a little easier. Maintaining the land in perpetuity is going to get harder as volunteers age and fewer volunteers come forward, so a long term strategy is needed, and that will, no doubt be a topic for further discussion. Whatever the future holds, we must preserve and treasure this almost unique village asset for our future generations. Nothing is more uplifting than to see families out there enjoying the nature trails, quizzes, etc. that Laura, Stephanie and Lyn so willingly put together. Hopefully our young people will grow up to both appreciate, respect and understand the space and themselves lend a hand in future years.
So enjoy, respect, explore and admire this priceless village asset, whilst remembering the vision and determination of those who made it happen.
Hugh
Quarterly update from Hugh McCarthy, Trustee
Normally, it’s our ever-active land management chairman who pen’s this update, but David is on a well-earned family holiday, so you have got me instead. This gives me an opportunity to publicly acknowledge all that David does for this remarkable charity, in his capacity of land manager, HSE guru, resident repairer and general dogs body etc.
That said, of course, the massive and sustained effort, freely given, by the land management team as a whole is a real testimony to community effort, requiring many freely given hours of often hard (and currently hot) work to keep the fields safe and in good order. A huge thanks must go to Bob, Brian, Malcolm, Colin, and our new trustee Colin Stevens (more anon) and not forgetting Brian “the builder”, as he is affectionally known, who almost daily is out there cutting back the invasive brambles etc.
I thought that this might be an opportunity for me to briefly remind our villagers and users of the Grange Area Trust, (or Widmer Fields as they are colloquially known) of their enormous benefit to our village. To have this remarkable open access charitable, conservation land on our doorstep is exceptional. To be blunt, without the enormous and sustained effort by a dedicated group of locals over some 40 years, the whole area would by now be a massive housing estate. So for us to have unfettered access to some 40 plus acres of pleasant, green and safe open space is a truly remarkable community asset and achievement. Now that its registered as a village green, it is essentially protected in perpetuity.
I recently read that the NHS claim that regular access to open, green and pollution free land, can add 10 years to your life! Perhaps that explains the high aggregate age of trustees! So it’s well worth having a browse at our website -www.grange area trust.org.uk- that gives a lot of information and detail about the charity. It also shows how you can contribute to the trust via a gift aided direct debit, or donation, and we currently need c£6,000 a year to maintain the area for you.
Well, that’s enough of the background stuff. What have we been doing this time of year? We started the season by planting several hundred trees and hedging whips. This was to encourage wildlife with indigenous and fruiting species, partly to off-set the awful Ash disease but also to reinforce our boundary where we have now created some boundary walks. What we didn’t plan for was the intense heat and drought! Little did we know that they would need watering every week, a big thank you to Malcolm and Liz for this, and of course others too. Sadly, many of the young trees and whips have succumbed to the heat and dryness, (and the unwelcome attention of rabbits, squirrels and deer). We never planned for the effect of global warming and the hottest period for many years. Doubtless, we will endeavour to replace the dead plants this winter. Let’s hope for lots of rain!
We have almost completed the circular boundary walks, where we have had to clear dead or risky trees and replace where possible. These boundary walks have been very popular in the heat, but they will be muddy if it ever rains again! A big thanks to Bob, Brian and Colin S for this achievement. We are planning to repair, improve and possibly extend the gravelled paths this winter, it will be our last purchase of scalpings, which are becoming very expensive. We have no intention of urbanising or turning it into a “Park” by surfacing the very well used paths, but if we do not keep people to the
main public footpath routes they tend to wander everywhere and that disturbs the conservation element of the fields. So do please try to use the marked paths, and in winter they are generally mud free!
Our plans for the future, with an ever-ageing bunch of workers, (Colin Stevens excepted, who has
significantly lowered the average trustee age and who has worked tirelessly this year! Thank you, Colin.)
has necessitated the move to greater mechanisation.
One of our greatest tasks is the annual cutting back of the very invasive (and prickly) black thorn and brambles. If left uncontrolled they would quickly invade the whole area. We need to manage them both as a wildlife refuge and boundary screen, but its hard work. It has taken its toll on our trusty brush cutter, now about 8 years’ old which has this year required the sustained attention of our chief mechanic. It is feeling better now thanks to David.
So, and with immense gratitude to a very generous substantial donation, we have been able to order a hydraulic cutter for the small tractor to do this work more efficiently. We eagerly await its delivery, along with some other attachments for the tractor to make life a little easier. Maintaining the land in perpetuity is going to get harder as volunteers age and fewer volunteers come forward, so a long term strategy is needed, and that will, no doubt be a topic for further discussion. Whatever the future holds, we must preserve and treasure this almost unique village asset for our future generations. Nothing is more uplifting than to see families out there enjoying the nature trails, quizzes, etc. that Laura, Stephanie and Lyn so willingly put together. Hopefully our young people will grow up to both appreciate, respect and understand the space and themselves lend a hand in future years.
So enjoy, respect, explore and admire this priceless village asset, whilst remembering the vision and determination of those who made it happen.
Hugh